Most years, by this point in the year, the Rochester International Jazz Festival typically seems to be on autopilot. But the novel coronavirus is the wild card now, as the 19th annual, nine-day event unveiled its lineup Tuesday.
CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival
Posted inMusic
Jazz Festival 2019, Day 9: Frank reviews Acoustic Alchemy and Joey DeFrancesco
The alchemy began with the opening salvos of Acoustic Alchemy and its powerful performance. The band made wide-sweeping strokes across the canvas. Just when you thought they were going to break free stylistically, they’d pitch an elegant U-turn back to their roots and the thrill at hand. The big crack-up came along when the outfit […]
Posted inMusic
Jazz Festival 2019, Day 9: Jeff reviews Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Kansas Smitty’s House Band
With a blast of Trombone Shorty’s horn, the Rochester International Jazz Festival roared to a satisfying close of Saturday night. Responding to a final day of gorgeous weather over its nine days, the fest drew an estimated 208,000 people, pretty much matching last year’s total. This was only the second time in its 18-year history […]
Posted inMusic
Jazz Festival 2019, Day 8: Frank reviews The Suitcase Junket, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, and Steve Miller Band
Attention dear readers: This is Jeff Spevak. Frank offered to mow my lawn for a month if I’d write his blog entry tonight. Besides, how hard can it be? He learned everything from reading me and Raymond Chandler. Downright sinister So after blasting over the Jazz 90.1 airwaves, I waited two hours to see New […]
Posted inMusic
Jazz Festival 2019, Day 8: Jeff reviews Catherine Russell, “Jubilation! A Celebration of Cannonball Adderley,” and Itamar Borochov Quartet
Minding history The centuries haven’t been kind to humanity. There really isn’t a lot we need to relive about the past. Except the music. Backed by an acoustic trio of guitar, bass and piano, Rochester International Jazz Festival favorite Catherine Russell overlooked no detail in mining the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s Friday night at two […]
Posted inMusic
Jazz Festival 2019, Day 7: Frank reviews Veronica Swift and George Benson
Like lightning Veronica Swift was swift, if you get my drift. She positively slayed the joint with lightning speed and lightning lingual dexterity. In other words: she’s fast. If I could sing or talk that fast I’d certainly win more arguments at home (please, don’t tell my wife). Swift was backed up by the sensational […]
Posted inMusic
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 7: Ron reviews George Coleman Quartet, Gary Versace with Scott Robinson, and Elda Trio
Night of the giants John Nugent, the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival’s artistic director, typically introduces the Kilbourn Hall concerts, but this time he came out with a saxophone. Nugent choked up as he described hearing George Coleman’s solo on “Stella by Starlight” on a Miles Davis album while he was a student at West […]
Posted inMusic
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 7: Jeff reviews Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters and DH’s Random/Control
Playing in a band, it’s tough work, as Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters made clear in their performance at Geva Theatre Center’s Fielding Stage. Between songs, Platt chatted about how The Honeycutters had once played a department store — if you remember those — and introduced their song, “The Low Road,” with the sarcastic […]
Posted inMusic
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 6: Jeff reviews Vilray, Tamar Korn & A Kornucopia, and Thomas Backman
Old-school cynicism What do you make of a romantic ballad that declares, “There’s no true love, there’s only routine?” Yeah, nailed it. Wednesday at the Rochester International Jazz Festival, Tin Pan Alley was just one block from Jazz, with Vilray as your shuttle-bus driver. Just Vilray alone onstage at Geva Theatre Center’s Fielding Stage with […]
Posted inMusic
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 6: Frank reviews Funknut, Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, and Kandace Springs
Some ups, some downs, some smiles, some frowns, some heart palpitations. So here goes: Funk-tastic Rochester’s Funknut is funky beyond belief, and at its early set at the Fusion Stage, the band wielded its instruments in a brazen display of a groovy threat. These cats were funkier than a porta-potty at a chili cook-off as […]
Posted inMusic
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 6: Ron reviews Harold Danko, Ian Shaw, Lionel Loueke & Raul Midón
A rich jazz legacy On Wednesday night at Hatch Recital Hall, Harold Danko played one of the finest concerts I’ve heard at the festival this year. It feels funny to call his opening tune, “To Start Again,” a “tune.” It was so packed with musical ideas, it was more like a jazz sonata. He played […]
Posted inMusic
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 5: Frank reviews ‘Nat King Cole at 100’ with Paul Marinaro and Marc Cohn & the Blind Boys of Alabama
Songs fit for a King Everything on Day 5 of the jazz festival was wonderfully copacetic, but I got to wondering: Do these tribute shows or centennial shows like SNJO’s salute to Art Blakey or “Nat King Cole at 100,” performed by Paul Marinaro, go out on tour already put together or…? Wouldn’t it be […]
